


You're familiar (like my mirror)

by sunandoceanblue



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hux has a daughter, Gen, Hux and Phasma are bros, Hux has family issues, Hux is a narcissist, Implied Sexual Content, Mild Language, background kylux, background phasma/tiny officer gf, because why not, mention of Hux's parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-13
Updated: 2016-02-13
Packaged: 2018-05-20 02:59:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5989678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunandoceanblue/pseuds/sunandoceanblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Deep down, General Hux knew there was nothing practical about this situation. Perhaps it was sheer vanity, his own nasty narcissism reflected in those pale green eyes, that made her worthy of exemption to the practical. Or maybe it was just because her smile was too precious to resist.</p><p>The Hux has a daughter AU nobody asked for!</p>
            </blockquote>





	You're familiar (like my mirror)

**Author's Note:**

> So I don't really know where this came from... it just appeared and I really wanted to write it. I also watched About Time the other day and Domhnall Gleeson is such an adorable father (which is more than what I can say about Hux).
> 
> Also there's background Kylux in here because I cannot help myself. Ft. Phasma/tiny officer gf bc why not?
> 
> Title is a reference to the song From Eden, by Hozier

Relatively speaking, she was his splitting image. Same eyes. Same hair. Same freckles.

Many, many people had told him so.

_"She looks so much like you!"_

_"Oh, she's definitely your daughter."_

_"Did she inherit_ any _features from her mother?"_

It was something that he had grown tired of very quickly. Yes, he was aware that his own daughter looked like him – what a shocker. He didn't need to be fucking reminded of it in a constant spurt of coos and _awwws_.

However, appearance was usually the last thing on the minds of officers and 'troopers of the First Order when it came to their General's daughter. Mostly because they all had a hard time comprehending the very fact that their General even _had_ a daughter.

Stoic, intimidating, controlling, dominating, professional General Hux... carrying a little toddler against his chest, ginger curls bouncing and tiny fingers locked around his neck as he strode across the bridge of the _Finalizer._

Actually, that was a rare sight, especially when she was younger.

Very few First Order employees saw the General with his daughter. The majority actually questioned her existence. But why would such a strange rumour be spread? Those who did have the odd chance of encountering the young redhead would hardly assume who she belonged to, if they were unaware of who she was. She spent a lot of her time being minded by those who were in charge of looking after the future generations of Stormtroopers. Some assumed she was just another potential solider.

There were many rumours and theories of who the mother was. There were whispers of him being married but surely it would be more well known that their _General_ had a _wife._ So no wife, but a child? Did he steal it, like the First Order stole thousands of babies from their families to train them as Stormtroopers? No, no, couldn't be it – she looked too much like him. and the General did not seem to be the kind of man who would go out of his way to claim a child, more the kind of man who been saddled with one. So perhaps a lover's dying wish to keep the child, please, _please just look after her for me, love her with all your heart._ Did the General even have a heart?

There was even a theory that there was no mother and the child was created artificially – the word clone was thrown around if you can believe it – because he wanted an heir, a prodigy. Someone to build up in his perfect image. And who in their right mind would want to have a child with _General Hux?_

The truth? Well, there wasn't all that much to say. A distant past, a sort of love story gone wrong that left him with a tiny baby and a void he was quite sure he never knew existed. But it was easy enough to ignore; he was quite adept at convincing himself he was whole.

The fact of the matter was that he not only had an order to run but also an adorable little four year old daughter to raise.

You can imagine the surprise on people's faces when the little Adelheid Hux cheerfully exclaims who her daddy is.

It was rather impractical, he supposed. A child was a substantial distraction in the middle of a war for the galaxy (and the love of father and child played greatly into the fall of the Empire all those years ago).

She was raised on the _Finalizer_ , mostly. Her days spent running up and down the halls, of surprising 'troopers and hiding from her caretakers.

He took her to many, many systems, many planets (all either controlled by the First Order or by that of First Order sympathisers, of course).

Begrudgingly, he had to admit, whenever he returned from missions that required his presence, something in his heart swelled when he saw Adelheid waiting with the other officers. She would jump from foot to foot impatiently as he and his men strolled out of the ship. And then she would run at him, flinging her arms upwards, grinning ear to ear. And he would scoop her up, not caring about the surrounding officers, kissing her cheeks and forehead and say " _My love! How I missed you! How much have you missed me?"_ to which she would always reply _"lots and lots and lots!"_

Though they weren't on the best of terms – but on far better terms than he and his father – Hux occasionally took Adelheid to visit his mother. More for Adele's benefit that his or his mother's. Since Hux was an only child, she had no uncles or aunts or cousins. And Hux was sure that if he ever presented his daughter to Brendol Hux, the man would surely throw her out the window. Without hesitation. So his mother was all he could offer Adele.

She was an unusual woman. Sweet and humble, nothing like her husband or son. There was a sadness in her, too, regarding this. He never understood her; couldn't grasp how she could just breeze around the house, humming to herself as she cleaned, how she could smile through every situation, even as the Empire fell and the new Republic was being built up. How could she just accept it so? How was she so unlike her husband and son, after everything?

She was always on guard around him, never quite relaxed and always frightened of him. She adored Adele, however, sung songs to her, ones Hux never let her sing to him (Adele's favourite was one about children in the springtime).

He was certainly glad she never met her grandfather, in any case. In old Brendol Hux's eyes, she'd just be another disappointment.

Of course, Adelheid tried his own patience as well. She was adept at throwing tantrums when she saw fit (because everyone gave her whatever she wanted in fear of Hux finding her in tears). She talked too much, sometimes. She definitely sang too much. Although she had encounter the young, future Stormtroopers, she was nothing like them. She spent time around others, she wasn't taught what they were taught; naturally, she grew to be more and more independent and curious and imaginative each day. Perhaps if she spent long enough in the training program, she would eventually evolve into the ideal soldier, like the others. He hadn't tried and he certainly wasn't planning on.

Many times he wished he could just send her away to the Academy. But it would have probably been hard for her to adept to, since she hadn't been exposed to it.

He supposed if he _really_ wanted to, it would have been easy to give her up (even he couldn't bring himself to say get rid of her). But he still hasn't after four years so that was probably how it was going to stay.

As much distraction as she was, he couldn't deny his fixation on her. Most would call it love but not, Hux. Well, yes, but not _just_ love. No, it wasn't just something as whimsical as love. It was a sort of pride, mixed with reserved excitement. Every glimpse into her pale green eyes was a glimpse into the future. What she could be. What he could make her be.

It was decidedly wrong, and boardline monstrous, to objectify his child in such a strategical manner. She wasn't some military plan. Some plot to be developed.

Only she was.

Under her skin, beneath her smile, laid so much glorious potential. She had his genes. She was beautifully intelligent for her age. Absorbed information, kept it tucked away in the recesses of her mind. Also tactile, wasn't a child who made the same mistakes twice, always pondering over the choices with curiosity.

(Kylo Ren has once told him she was unusually more Force sensitive than others, just barely but worth mentioning. Hux would make sure that would lead absolutely nowhere and result in nothing more than a vague footnote in the construction of his daughter.)

He could make Adelheid _just like him_. And if she were just like him, then she'd be perfect. Is not that what every parent wants; a perfect child? Someone to carry on their legacy? Their... empire? Hux was quite certain he'd have a glorious empire to pass down to her once she was of age. Perfect father, perfect daughter, perfect galaxy.

He was probably too narcissistic for his own good.

* * *

The walk to his office was completely uninterrupted, unusual in a pleasant way. Typically, he was assaulted by officers before he'd even had any caf (but he remained exceptionally professional and took it in stride; these sorts of mornings came with being General, of course). Not this morning though. Lovely; maybe the day would be more prosperous and amiable than the rest of the week.

However, when he reached his office, he was greeted with a little surprise.

A giggle.

Adelheid was hiding again. He had to get Phasma to stop sneaking her in here. That woman spolit his daughter more than he did.

Hux smiled faintly when he heard another giggle, contemplating the absurdity of the situation, placing his mug of caf on his desk.

"Adele?" He called softly. "Is that you I can hear?"

At first, there was silence. Then shuffling.

Suddenly, a mess of ginger hair popped out from under his desk.

"Boo!" Adelheid crowed, stretching her arms up, fingers curled dramatically.

He smirked, pocketing his datapad and peering down at her. "Good morning, my love."

"Morning, daddy!"

Strangely enough, he never taught her to address him as that, or anything really, to be specific. He suspected there were those, Phasma and Kylo, who got Adele into that habit.

"And how are we this morning, hm?"

It had only been about two hours since they last saw each other. Hux needed to pick up a report from logistics and so he had dropped her off to her minders on the way there. Most days, he actually had breakfast with her, serving her whatever she wanted. On the days he didn't, he never parted from her until he made her laugh. He couldn't bring himself to just drop her off and leave (it just reminded him a little too much of his father's lack of affection).

Adele grinned broadly. She wore a long sleeved frock, pale yellow in colour with white lace trims on the sleeve cuffs and hem of the skirt. Hux prided himself on gifting his daughter with beautiful dresses from all the planets they visited. Only the best for her. No shoes, only white stockings (she _abhorred_ shoes, kicked them off at any chance she got). Her hair was too long; he could never bring himself to cut those curls. This particular day, her hair was styled in two loose, but lovely, braids, sitting on her shoulders and falling down past her chest. They were tied with yellow ribbons. Ginger ringlets, too short to pin back, hung around his face. Though they shared the unique shade, his daughter's hair was impossibly unruly compared to his. "Good! I had waffles for breakfast."

"Sounds delicious," Hux hummed, sitting in his chair, ankles crossed. "May I ask how you got in here?"

"Captain Phasma," Adele replied.

He knew it.

"And just why were you with Captain Phasma, hm? Did you run away from your minders... _again?_ "

Adele squirmed, fingers fiddling with one of her braids. "I... I wanted to see you," she said quietly.

Hux sighed and scooped her up, setting her on his lap. "I don't think it's wise for you to be running around by yourself," he scolded lightly.

Her golden lashes fell against her warm cheeks, afraid to meet his gaze.

He pinched her chin with his forefinger and thumb. ""You'll get lost and then I'll never see you again, which would be rather tragic, I believe."

Unable to help herself, her lips tugged up into a small smile. A oddly satisfying feeling washed over Hux. Only she smiled at him like that. Only she adored him so and only she grew bashful around him.

"Can we play hide and seek?" She asked, little fingers tugging on the lapel of his greatcoat.

He rose from his chair, arms gripped around his daughter carefully. "I'm afraid I'm taking you back to your minders, baby," he told her, showing no remorse, not even when she pouted.

"Oh... but... can't we play?"

"Unfortunately daddy's busy, Adele," he said absently as he exited his office, his mind already drifting to statistics and numbers rather than what his daughter was saying. (And maybe he encouraged _daddy_ a little.)

The stares were easy to ignore at this point. Most knew who Adele was, looking on in engrossing fascination as their General played father. But there were a few who gaped in awe, thinking _just who is this child and why is the General carrying her,_ but too afraid to raise any questions. A pro to being intimidating; nobody questioned him.

"Look, there's Lord Ren!"

Hux raised his eyes to find the knight striding behind a small band of Stormtroopers escorting a prisoner down the hall adjacent to the bridge. He assumed they were headed to the interrogation room if Ren was was perusing them.

The first time she encountered the master of the Knights of Ren, Adelheid had burst into tears. Hux expected Ren to take pride in terrifying her but instead he quickly reached his hands up to his helmet, unclasping it and yanking it off. His expression was surprisingly panicked, lips parted and brow low, and was that even some guilt washing over his youthful features? He held his helmet by his side and knelt down in front of the little girl, bowing slightly; the way a knight bows to a princess. As he rose, his hair bounced around his face gently. Hux didn't understand what was so funny but it was enough to make Adele giggle.

So it seemed he relished in the slaughtering of innocents and causing more chaos than anyone could handle but didn't want to frightened a little girl.

Or he was just didn't want the General reprimanding him for scaring her.

Now, Kylo was obsessed with the little girl. He saw her quite a lot ( _"Is Lord Ren staying for dinner again?" "What's Lord Ren doing here?" "Lord Ren! Come play with my toys with me!"_ ) He enjoy playing with the girl, not unlike Phasma; engaging in games of hide and seek with her. (Though he'd never tell anyone it was his favourite game to play with Chewie when he was a child himself.)

"Hello, Lord Ren," she chirped.

He paused suddenly, head snapping in their direction and backtracking a few steps. Sometimes it infuriated Hux over how easily distracted people were when Adelheid called for their attention.

"Hello, Adele," Ren said, pacing over to them.

Hux set her on the ground gently.

"What are you doing?" She asked innocently as he crouched down to her height.

"I'm about to interro—" he cut off sharply when Hux fixed him with a venomous look. ( _"Please don't fill my daughter's mind with frightful, violent images, Ren."_ ). "I'm... just doing my job. Protecting and serving the First Order."

Hux didn't care how unenthusiastic the tone was, or how untrue it could be interpreted as, the damn statement was _music to his ears_. It was almost attractive to hear the knight comply. "Then perhaps you should return to what you were doing, my Lord," he said silkily, giving the knight an sickeningly sweet grin, knowing Ren wouldn't retaliate. Not when Hux was resting his gloved hand on his daughter head in an, oh, so protective manner.

Ren merely tensed in the shoulders(and Hux could picture the way his eyes would narrow and teeth would bare perfectly) but he more or less ignored Hux's advice. "What about you?" He continued, tone disarming. "How's your day been, huh?"

"Daddy is taking me back to my minders," Adele said, pouting again.

"That's because your daddy is the fun police."

Hux scoffed, crossing his arms but saying nothing.

Ren rose to his tall frame once more. "Are you free on your lunch break?" He asked Hux lowly, eyes falling to the young girl now playing with his robes. "Or is she—"

"As she said, she's going _back_ to her minders," Hux interrupted sharply. "I suspect you would like to join me for lunch."

"Well, not _for_ lunch." Hux could _hear_ the smirk in Ren's voice. "But I would like to visit you during _your_ lunch break."

Hux exhaled impatiently but couldn't keep the faint smile from his lips. "Don't you always?"

"Thought you'd like it if I asked permission," Kylo said with a shrug.

"Well, say goodbye to Lord Ren, Adele."

Adele glanced up at the two adults, grinning brightly. "Goodbye, Lord Ren!" She repeated.

"Goodbye." Ren nodded at Hux. "General."

Hux said nothing and the knight departed, opting to bend down to pick Adele up.

She began to fuss in his arms. "I wanna walk now," she said, wiggling.

"Certainly." Hux set her down on her little feet.

Wordlessly, she latched her fingers around his hand, skipping to keep up with his long strides.

They walked past the break room that was in the left hand corner of the hallway and Adele immediately yanked free of her father's grip when she recognised the voices drifting from the room.

Captain Phasma and Lieutenant Wilhelm. Because of course they couldn't make it back to Adelheid's caretakers without being interrupted again. They were the only ones in the room (and technically, his room was reserved for the superior officers but both Hux and Phasma constantly granted Lieutenant Wilhelm access and so far, nobody has protested).

"Aunt Phasma!" Adele squealed, throwing her arms up and making a beeline for the Stormtrooper Captain. (Another name Hux had not encouraged and suspected came from Phasma herself. He would never understand that woman.)

She turned from the Lieutenant, eyes trailing down to the ginger hair and freckles bouncing towards her. An incredibly rare yet surprisingly lovely smile splashed across her face. That damn smile that made her look younger and softer (and frankly gorgeous too). "Hey there, Heidi," she greeted warmly.

It irked Hux that she had her own – rather ridiculous – nicknames for his daughter. Which was quite hypocritical considering he lavished Adele with pet names anyway. What was a few more names for a girl as adorable as she? He watched on as the tall woman crouched down in order to gather the girl into her arms. It was almost comical; his little imp of a daughter in the arms of easily the most feared and possibly the tallest of Stormtrooper Captains. Many people assume Captain Phasma is not a caring or compassionate person. This is false; she cares deeply for her troops and hold the utmost respect and confidence in them. Undeniably so. The woman was one of the most fiercely dedicated Captains Hux had certainly ever seen.

"Oh, Adelheid," Lieutenant Wilhelm crooned in that oh, so, lovely voice of hers, catching the child's cheeks in her hands. "You get bigger every time I see you!"

"Tina!" Adele grabbed the short woman's forearms, beaming up at her.

She gave Adele an Eskimo kiss, which left her in a fit of giggles.

"You want me to sing to you?"

Adele nodded enthusiastically, and Florentine swept the girl up and waltzing her around the room in clumsy circles, singing to her.

"You know, considering how Tina had no filter, she's really good with kids," Phasma mused, turning to face Hux.

"You need to stop bringing her to my office," Hux reprimanded, keeping a close eye on the girl.

Phasma shrugged, as if the act was completely fine, totally without consequence. "When I saw her this morning, she was demanding to visit you. You hardly see her in the mornings."

Hux decided to ignore the last statement. "I swear you go out of your way to see her."

He recalled her saying that even if she desired children she was unable to have them. Sad, she admitted, but it was also decidedly more efficient. It didn't stop her from doting over Adelheid, however.

Lieutenant Wilhelm joined them, offering Hux is daughter. "Join us for an early lunch?"

He accepted Adele, resting her against his side. "I'm returning to my office for lunch."

"Ah, of course," Phasma said dryly. "Can't miss these lunchtime sessions with Lord Ren, can we?"

Florentine snickered, covering her mouth with her hand. "I'm sure they have very intense debates... with their tongues."

"Not in front of Adele, dammit," he hissed at them before storming out.

The two laughed to themselves, returning to their lunch (and Hux had noticed they were sharing some sort of salad and felt sickened but how cheesy they were).

* * *

When lunch rolled around, Ren was already waiting for him in his office, eyes on whatever was in his hands.

"What have you got there?" Hux asked, locking the door behind him.

"It appears to be a card your daughter left you."

He offered it to Hux, who set down his datapad and gingerly took the card in his hands, inspecting it. A drawing of some garden, he supposed, judging by the amount of green used. The sun was in the top right corner of the page. Inside, Adele's large, messy writing informed Hux that she very much loved him. There were even small hearts, affirming this.

"Doesn't she make you cards nearly every day?" Ren asked.

"And I've kept them all."

"Really?"

Hux looked up, scowling. "You sound surprised."

Ren shrugged at him. "You don't let her stick up her drawings in anywhere but her room. I just assumed you didn't keep the cards."

"I keep them all in my bottom drawer."

There was silence and he felt Ren's eyes on him, fixated. It made Hux uncomfortable.

"You're worried people think you're terrible father." It wasn't a question. Ren knew; snooping around in his head again.

"What of it?" Hux sniffed, pointedly not looking at the knight.

"You shouldn't."

Huh. A surprisingly gentle tone, coming from Ren. He finally met Ren's gaze and saw a relatively smooth expression, certainly no snark or sarcasm.

Ren was one of the few people that more than just respected and/or feared him. Similar to Phasma, Hux found himself growing relaxed around the younger man. Despite what started out between them was a result of stress and anger (and Hux didn't expect it to go _anywhere at all_ ), an odd, mutual relationship somewhat formed. Instead of hurting one another out of spite and resentment, they pain they now caused one another was almost endearing. And Hux was actually growing accustomed to spending time with Ren outside of the bedroom, hence their 'lunch dates'. Ren didn't particularly care about his title (unless they were in bed) and didn't expect Hux to remain serious and composed, in fact, Ren got severely pissed off whenever Hux told him what to do (again, unless they were in bed). But he seemed to like talking to Hux, about anything, really. (He liked kissing Hux more though.)

"She's your daughter; nobody can tell you how to fucking raise her. Adelheid loves you. Why does anything else matter?"

Hux frowned. He hated it when Ren was wise. He set the card on his desk, standing it up right next to the small framed painting he had of her. The painting was up there with his cherished possessions. The artist had perfectly captured her bright smile, the wisps of ginger hair, the freckles dusting her skin.

He cleared his throat and turned back to the knight, who was lounging in his chair and looking quite at home. "Comfortable?"

"Exceedingly," Ren replied, grinning like the little shit he was. He patted his lap. "Join me?"

"My, thank you for inviting me to sit on my own chair," Hux murmured as he straddled the younger man, looking rather indifferent about it. That being said, he was very much grateful for the wonderful distraction Ren provided; he privately enjoyed spending an entire hour reclusively separated from the rest of the ship. But it seemed repulsively innocence compared to their more... primal activities.

Ren tugged at his waist impatiently, urging him closer and nipping at his throat. Hux was quite happy to get lost in the awkward and ardent desire of Kylo Ren for the rest of the hour.

* * *

Later in that evening, Hux was finishing up the reports he didn't do over lunch. He knew he had been forgetting something. Damn Ren and those plush, delicious lips of his. Damp hair clung to his forehead and the back of his neck and he wore a grey sleep shirt and a darker pair of trousers. He worked in silence, a glass of whiskey by his side.

Adele padded into the room, wearing her baby blue nightie, her hair cascading down her small frame. In one hand, she was tightly clutching her small, wooden hairbrush. Hux recalled buying in for her from a market stall in Naboo a few years ago, when her hair really started to grow. Crafted from the finest wood in the system.

She walked up to his chair and stood by him. "Something the matter?" He hummed, only half-paying attention to her.

"What are you writing?" She pressed curiously, her free hand reaching out to grasp at his pant leg.

He gave her a thin smile. "Things my darling wouldn't understand," he replied smoothly.

Blush kissed her cheeks and she bashfully looked down. _My darling_. Hux suspected it was her favourite of the pet names he called her. They fell into silent again, Hux returning to his reports. They were due the following day. Easy to finish. But, he suddenly recalled, he also had to forward his summary of the military budget alterations to the financial division. Wait, had he finished that summary?

Adele tugged on his pant leg gently. "Could you tie my hair back, please?" She asked in a small voice, offering up the hairbrush and a single hair tie.

Hux exhaled through his nose. She wasn't going away anytime soon. "Of course. Come here." He placed his hand on her back guided her to stand between his legs. He plucked the brush from her hand and slowly began to drag the brush through her unruly tresses. They bounced back into place after every stroke, twisting and furling, despite his effort to detangle the mess. Fruitless effort.

Sighing, he set the brush on his desk and pried the hair tie from her small fingers. He scooped up her hair and carefully tied it all back, so that it sat at the base of her skull. "How's that?"

She nodded. "Good."

Before she could move, he hoisted her up on his lap, so he could reach his desk again. He didn't move his eyes from his work as she wiggled around, getting comfortable. To his surprise, she remained quiet for nearly twenty minutes, playing with her fingers and peeking up at him from under her lashes. For the better part, he ignored her, one arm tucked around her lazily. When she finally spoke, it shocked him out of his concentration.

"Why do you do what you do?"

A surprisingly mature question. Or maybe he assumed she meant something different by it. She was very obviously too young to understand politics and legalities. "The galaxy needs order, my dear. It needs someone to control it, to rule it."

"Like you?"

Hux's lips twitched. "Yes."

"So.. you're fixing the galaxy? ...I didn't know it was broken."

Oh, children are adorably naive.

Adelheid yawned, mouth parting and eyelids fluttering inconsistently.

"Time for bed, sweetheart," Hux said, finally rising, hugging her to his chest.

She let out a sleepy whine in protest but was struggling to reopen her eyes once more.

Hux took her into her bedroom. Another advantage of her presence, he supposed, was that he was granted larger quarters, with an extra room. Specifically for her. Like his, it was sparsely decorated furniture wise; a small bed with pale blue covers and pillows, a dresser decorated in stickers and a small box filled with dolls in pretty little dresses and stuffed animals. But of course, he couldn't forget the dozens upon dozens of drawings plastered around like wallpaper. She he told him she didn't like how _boring_ the walls were. If she had it her way, the entire ship would have been covered in brightly coloured drawings and glittery stickers.

Cradling her in one arm, he pulled the covers back and then expertly set her down on the mattress. Once she looked comfortable, he dragged the covers back over her and proceeded to tuck her into bed. He remembered his mother doing it exactly the way he was. His father never put him to bed.

As he leant back, he caught the way his daughter was smiling up at him sleepily.

He peered into those darling eyes and saw a sea of innocence and childlike wonder.

Until his own nasty intentions began to reflect in the pale green, the pale green that matched his own eyes. Quite frankly, it was a little overwhelming just how much potential lay snuggly in the blankets before him. In her eyes, he saw her future stretched out, grand and glorious.

In her eyes, he saw his own reflection.

Maybe he was disgustingly selfish and neither he nor his daughter deserved the relationship that bound them. Maybe he took far too much of an advantage over her innocence. Maybe he deserved to rot in hell.

One day he was going to be punished horribly for all the heinous acts he'd committed – he didn't doubt that – but he wasn't going to let it be over his narcissistic intentions with his daughter. He'd done far more hideous crimes he'd rather be punished for. Besides, he didn't regret anything when it came to Adelheid. He didn't regret having her. Certainly didn't regret raising her. And he doubted he would regret anything else he had in mind for her.

Perhaps, there were small parts of him that _wished_ things turned out differently. Half-conjured daydreams, never fully existing. Such as wondering where his life would have led had he not attended the Academy. Or had the Empire not fallen. What would life be like if he grew up more to be like his mother? Would he have been kinder? A daydreamer? Someone who loved their child for who they were and let them make their own choices in life?

But he didn't grow up to be like his mother. He never stood a chance. And neither did Adelheid. (Deep down, he knew he was no better than his father.)

"Pleasant dreams, Adelheid," Hux said, one hand sweeping her curls from her face absently.

"I love you, daddy."

Sometimes he was very glad he was so sickeningly narcissistic. It made moments like this easier to comprehend. _Of course_ she loved him. _Unconditionally._

"I love you, too, my darling."

There wasn't another soul he said that to. And he meant every. Last. Word.

Whether or not that made him more revolting and evil and monstrous didn't matter.

He merely pressed a kiss to her forehead and returned to his desk to finish off his work for the night.

**Author's Note:**

> Come pester me on [Tumblr!](http://thesunandoceanblue.tumblr.com) I'd love to chat~
> 
> So I don't know how this fic will be received. I would love to write more on it but only if it sparks people's interest.
> 
> Adelheid, if you're curious, is roughly pronounced ah-del-heed. Basically like Adele with 'heed' on the end. It's the German/Dutch variant, and much older, spelling of the name Adelaide. Which was the original name I had in mind but I figured Hux would choose something more old fashioned. (And something that is never on personalised nametags) It also means nobility, which Hux would probably decide is very relevant, and it also means sweet, which I decided is very relevant.


End file.
